Decluttering Your Internal Environment

Topic Progress:

You may be aware that when people get close to a goal, they often sabotage themselves. It is amazing that we can put so much work into something then ditch it on the one-yard line. What’s up with that? Our attachments to negative belief systems and people who don’t support us can sidetrack us. Fear of success or failure can cause us to blink. All that baggage builds up and prevents us from thinking clearly and acting powerfully.

Just as we did with the physical decluttering, let’s also work to clear out unnecessary internal baggage. Block some “building time” in your journal and note any beliefs or people you interact with who may represent a pattern. Then sift through these notes and see if you can identify any beliefs or people that may be holding you back. Pay attention to the things you tell yourself throughout the day. Thoughts like, “I’m not smart enough to do that,” or “I’m not that kind of person” are telling. You don’t need to hold on to them any more than you need to keep seeing someone who is critical of you every time you get together.

There is no gimmick to this concept – it just requires determination and commitment. As Yoda would say, “Do or do not. There is no try.” Identify everything that isn’t supporting you and your efforts and dump it. There will be blowback, you can count on it. You will probably feel as if you are hurting someone who’s been important in your life. In therapy parlance this is called co-dependence. This is not a healthy response. We want to be interdependent, not codependent. We should not accept anything less than exceptional people, things, and results in our lives. You must be the subject of your own story and not the object of someone else’s’ novel.